Lowell board votes 4-3 to move toward firing schools supt.

Lowell School Superintendent Salah Khelfaoui, left, leaves the School Committee meeting Wednesday night with his lawyer, Michael Long. The board voted 4-3 to begin the process of terminating his contract.
(photo courtesy of kim scott)

LOWELL -- Cries of "shame!" echoed through the City Council chambers after the Lowell School Committee voted 4-3 to begin the process of terminating Superintendent of Schools Salah Khelfaoui's contract Wednesday night.

As Khelfaoui exited the room stripped of his position - at least temporarily, if not permanently - a packed audience of supporters lined the hall applauding him and shaking his hand. During 13 impassioned speeches in front of the School Committee, parents, teachers and others praised Khelfaoui's achievements and called the move to fire the embattled head of schools politically motivated.

Inside the chamber, the four School Committee members who voted to move forward with the termination process expressed concerns for the superintendent's performance across many areas.

"I can only say that I am seeing things from a different perspective," said School Committee member Connie Martin.

Martin and fellow School Committee member Jackie Doherty filed the motion, which was supported by School Committee member Gerry Nutter and Mayor William Samaras. Andre Descoteaux, Robert Hoey Jr. and Dominik Lay voted against the motion.

According to City Solicitor Christine O'Connor, the vote starts the termination process and requires the city's law department to draft a formal notice citing the reasons for the termination. This document must then come before the School Committee for another vote, she said.

Both Martin and Doherty spoke generally about the concerns that led them to make the motion to start the termination process "for good cause.

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" They said the upcoming formal process will provide more information, citing legal impediments in sharing this information before then.

"It is not my intent to define the universe of these concerns tonight," said Doherty. "That information will be shared in response to the motion we have before us."

She went on to defend against critics by describing what is not "micro-managing," including questioning discrepancies in our budget, requiring complete and timely information, wanting adherence to district hiring policies, speaking against delays in posting, making sure motions get addressed, requesting accounting best practices and asking for proper bidding policies.

Samaras, who was considered the swing vote, listed similar concerns. He said Khelfaoui's inability to unite the School Committee, where Samaras was often the deciding the vote, influenced his decision.

The three members who voted against the motion expressed support for the superintendent and praised his achievements. Hoey said Khelfaoui has long worked in a "hostile" environment.

Lay said he felt he did not know the reasons behind the motion to remove the superintendent.

"I don't know what the good cause is," he said.

In a vote split along the same lines, the School Committee agreed 4-3 to place Khelfaoui on immediate paid administrative leave.

The School Committee appointed Assistant Superintendent Jeannine Durkin to serve as the acting superintendent. That motion passed in a 5-2 vote with only Descoteaux and Lay in opposition.

Before approving the motion to terminate, Samaras amended it to also request an audit of the School Department's budget to be conducted over the next few weeks.

When asked, O'Connor said the vote to terminate is allowed under the terms of Khelfaoui's contract. The contract does not include a provision regarding salary in the event of termination, she said.

Khelfaoui currently earns $189,625, an amount slated to increase to $204,206 in 2020 when his four-year contract was due to expire.

Michael Long, counsel to the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, spoke in support of Khelfaoui during the meeting. Like other supporters, he suggested the concerns were baseless and the motion was made for political reasons.

"We look forward to testing that evidence," he said.

Khelfaoui declined comment after the meeting, referring questions to Long.

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